The Locked Groove: A Revolution in Repetition

The Endless Loop

In the vast landscape of music technology, few innovations have had as profound and diverse an impact as the locked groove. This seemingly simple concept - a continuous loop on a vinyl record - has influenced everything from avant-garde composition to dance music culture, and continues to shape our understanding of repetition in music and beyond.

Technical Definition and Early History

What is a Locked Groove?

At its most basic, a locked groove is a circular groove on a vinyl record that forms a complete loop, causing the needle to play the same sound repeatedly. While most records have a silent locked groove at the end to prevent the needle from drifting into the label, the artistic use of locked grooves involves purposely recording sound into these endless loops.

Early Experiments: Schaeffer's "Sillon Fermé"

Pierre Schaeffer, the pioneer of musique concrète, was among the first to explore the artistic potential of locked grooves. He called his version "sillon fermé" (closed groove). Schaeffer created these by:

1. Recording a sound onto magnetic tape
2. Cutting a section of this tape and splicing the ends together to form a physical loop
3. Recording this tape loop onto a disc cutter, creating a continuous groove on the record

This technique allowed Schaeffer to create sustained, repeating sounds - a key element of his musique concrète compositions. It was revolutionary because it allowed for:

• The isolation of a specific sound or musical phrase
• The creation of rhythmic patterns through repetition
• The transformation of a momentary sound into a continuous texture

The Locked Groove in Experimental Music

1960s Avant-Garde

In the 1960s, experimental composers and sound artists began to explore the creative possibilities of locked grooves more extensively:

• Milan Knížák's "Destroyed Music" (1965): The Czech artist physically manipulated vinyl records by scratching, painting, and burning them, creating new sounds when played. Some of these manipulations resulted in unintentional locked grooves.
• Steve Reich's "It's Gonna Rain" (1965): While not using a physical locked groove, Reich's use of tape loops to create phasing patterns was conceptually similar and influenced later uses of locked grooves.

1970s Ambient and Minimalism

• Brian Eno's "Discreet Music" (1975): Eno used long tape loops to create ambient soundscapes, a technique that conceptually aligned with the use of locked grooves.
• Robert Fripp and Brian Eno's "No Pussyfooting" (1973): This album explored long-form tape looping techniques that paved the way for later locked groove experiments.

Notable Locked Groove Releases

• Pierre Henry's "Le Microphone Bien Tempéré" (1977): This release consisted entirely of locked grooves, showcasing the technique's potential for creating a "library" of loops.
• RRR Records' "500 Locked Grooves" (1985): This compilation featured 500 different locked grooves by various artists, demonstrating the diversity of sounds and approaches possible with the technique.

The Locked Groove in Popular Music

The Beatles and Psychedelia

The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1967) famously included a locked groove at the end of the album, containing a high-frequency tone and some gibberish noise. This brought the concept to a mainstream audience and influenced many subsequent rock artists.

Progressive Rock and Concept Albums

Progressive rock bands in the 1970s often used locked grooves as a way to create cyclic structures or to conceptually "loop" their albums:

• Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" (1970) ended with a locked groove of wind sounds.
• King Crimson's "Lizard" (1970) used a locked groove to create an endlessly repeating mellotron note at the end of the album.

DJ Culture and the Locked Groove

Early Hip-Hop and Turntablism

While not using locked grooves per se, early hip-hop DJs like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash developed techniques for manually creating loops using two copies of the same record. This "breakbeat" technique can be seen as a precursor to the later use of locked grooves in DJ culture.

Techno and Electronic Music

In the 1990s and 2000s, the locked groove found new life in electronic music, particularly in techno:

• Jeff Mills' "Purpose Maker EP" (1995) included several locked grooves, allowing DJs to create extended, evolving rhythmic patterns.
• Richie Hawtin, under his Plastikman alias, released "Recycled Plastik" (1994), an EP consisting entirely of locked grooves.

Locked Groove Records

Specialized locked groove records became popular tools for DJs:

• "Atomic Rhythm" series: These records contained multiple locked grooves with different rhythmic patterns, allowing DJs to layer and mix loops in real-time.
• Turntable training records: Locked grooves were used to help aspiring DJs practice beat-matching and mixing techniques.

Technical Innovations and the Locked Groove

Record Cutting Techniques

The creation of locked grooves required specialized techniques in record cutting:

• Careful calculation was needed to ensure the groove formed a perfect circle
• The length of the loop had to be precisely timed to match the rotation speed of the record (usually 1.8 seconds for a 33 1/3 RPM record)

Playback Equipment

Some turntables were designed with features specifically for locked groove playback:

• Variable pitch control allowed DJs to adjust the speed (and thus pitch) of locked grooves
• Some high-end turntables featured "reverse play" functions, allowing locked grooves to be played backwards

The Digital Age and Beyond

Digital Emulation

With the rise of digital DJing and production tools, the concept of the locked groove has been emulated in software:

• DJ software like Serato and Traktor allow users to create "virtual" locked grooves from any part of a digital audio file
• Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) use looping functions that are conceptually derived from locked grooves

Contemporary Artistic Use

Modern artists continue to explore the potential of locked grooves:

• Christian Marclay's "Record Without a Cover" (1985) was designed to accumulate scratches and dirt, changing the sound of its locked groove over time
• Janek Schaefer's "Tri-phonic Turntable" (1997) uses three tone arms to play a single record with locked grooves, creating complex, evolving patterns

Vinyl Revival and Collector Culture

The resurgence of vinyl as a medium has brought renewed interest in locked grooves:

• Many contemporary vinyl releases include locked grooves as bonus features
• Locked groove records have become sought-after items for collectors, with some rare releases fetching high prices

Philosophical and Cultural Impact

Repetition and Minimalism

The locked groove embodies key concepts in minimalist art and music:

• It explores how repetition can transform our perception of a sound
• It challenges traditional notions of musical structure and development

Time and Infinity

The endless nature of the locked groove has made it a potent metaphor:

• In music, it represents the tension between finite physical media and potentially infinite playback
• In literature and film, the locked groove has been used as a metaphor for time loops and eternal recurrence

Sampling and Remix Culture

The locked groove presaged many aspects of modern remix culture:

• It embodied the idea of taking a small fragment of sound and repurposing it
• It challenged notions of authorship and originality in ways that anticipated later debates about sampling

Conclusion: The Endless Echo

From its origins in Schaeffer's radio studios to its use in contemporary electronic music, the locked groove has been a catalyst for innovation and a tool for reimagining the possibilities of sound and music. Its influence extends far beyond the realm of vinyl records, touching on fundamental concepts of repetition, time, and the nature of music itself.

As we move further into the digital age, the physical locked groove may seem like a relic of analog technology. Yet its echoes continue to resonate through our music and culture. In an era of infinite digital loops and algorithmic compositions, the locked groove reminds us of the profound impact that can come from a simple idea - the endless repetition of a moment in time, captured in the circular scratch of a needle on vinyl.